The invention is in the general field of wearing apparel for holding tools, and is particularly concerned with a headband for retaining a flashlight on the head, for projecting a light beam forwardly.
A number of different headband-mounted flashlights and headbands for retaining flashlights have been known. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,360,930 and 4,462,064. These patents disclosed headband devices for holding flashlights along the side of the head. The latter patent showed a pre-formed, relatively rigid tube for receiving the of a flashlight, while the former patent was concerned with a flexible headband strap whch could be wrapped around the flashlight when not in use.
Other headband/flashlight devices have included elastic headbands permanently attached to a lamp and battery pack, which engaged centrally against the forehead, without any barrel-type battery compartment. In these, the lamp was generally in the position of a miner's headlamp, and the aim of the lamp was sometimes pivotable to higher or lower positions.
None of these prior headlamp retaining arrangements was as simple in construction, versatile in application and use, and as efficient as the flashlight retaining headband of the present invention described below.